


Mistletoe

by crazygirlattemptswriting



Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: F/M, some fluff for the holidays, spoilers for Serenity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-02
Updated: 2012-12-02
Packaged: 2017-11-20 01:45:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazygirlattemptswriting/pseuds/crazygirlattemptswriting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaylee puts up some mistletoe for the holidays. Mal doesn't approve at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> There's a 25 Days of Christmas Ficlet Challenge going around tumblr and I thought I'd give it a try. The prompt for Day 1 was mistletoe.
> 
> This isn't my first fic, but it is the first time I've posted one so any feedback is welcome. :)

"Why the gorram hell is there a plant on my ship?" Mal yells as ducks under the leaves to exit the bridge. 

"It's mistletoe, Captain," Kaylee says cheerfully.

"I don't care what it is, Kaylee, I want to know what it's doing on my ship."

"It's Christmastime!" she answers patiently. "I thought we'd better get into the spirit somehow."

Jayne snorts as he passes by. "You just want another excuse to kiss your doctor." 

Kaylee hits him. "That's not true!"

Mal hides a smile behind his hand as he watches them argue.

"You're just upset that you don't have anyone to kiss you!"

"Why the hell would I _want_ to kiss anyone on this ship? I ain't kissing Mal or your doctor or you. And Zoe would shoot me, and River's crazy!"

It's nice to see that the crew is recovering from that whole mess on Miranda. Slowly but surely they are moving on, although they'll carry the memories of Wash and the Shepherd with them forever.

Mal looks up to see Zoe watching them, a wistful look on her face. She's probably remembering all the times she and Wash kissed under the mistletoe. She notices him watching and gives him a sad smile as she steps down next to him.

"I think we should keep it, sir."

"Oh really?" he says skeptically. "And why would that be?"

"I don't think River knows what mistletoe is."

Several thoughts flash through Mal's mind, the overwhelming one being _special hell_. He clears his throat. 

"And why would that be a reason to keep it?" he asks neutrally. Sure, he likes the girl. And since she'd taken over as copilot, they'd gotten a lot closer. She was a great listener, always seeming to know when he needed to say something.

Well, she _was_ a mind reader. That explained that. 

But still, he likes the way things are still new to her, how she gets excited over seeing a new planet or trying a new food. He likes how she isn't cynical towards people yet. He wants her to retain that innocence.

But that's how he feels about Kaylee, and he's never wanted to kiss her, unless it's a brotherly peck on the cheek.

River....is a different story. _Special hell_ , he reminds himself as he meets Zoe's eyes.

Zoe gives him a strange look. "The girl loves learning. Might as well teach her about another weird custom."

"Teach?" he asks in a high-pitched voice.

Zoe rolls her eyes. "Teach, tell, same difference." She walks away, leaving Mal alone with his thoughts.

"Captain?" 

Mal jumps. Kaylee and Jayne are still there waiting for him.

"I-what?"

"I asked if you were coming to dinner."

"Oh, yeah, go ahead without me. I have to check something."

Mal returns to the bridge. River is leaning over a monitor, her long dark hair obscuring most of her face. _She is beautiful_ , Mal admits to himself as he watches her long graceful limbs. _And she could kill me in under a second. And she's super smart. And...she's probably reading my thoughts right now._

He mentally berates himself as she leans back and turns to face him.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Are you coming to dinner?" he asks.

She smiles. Her face lights up, similar to the way _Serenity_ lights up when she goes to lightspeed. It makes him about as happy, too.

"Sure." She walks to the entryway and pauses directly beneath the mistletoe to look up at it.

"What's that?" she asks, pointing.

Mal swallows. "That's mistletoe, River." 

"What's it for?" She's still standing under it, but now she's turned to face him.

"It's, uh, a tradition to put it up around Christmastime."

"Why?"

"Well, um, people often kiss under the mistletoe. It's a part of the tradition."

"Oh." She thinks about this while Mal thinks about kissing her. Before he can, though, she wrinkles up her nose and speaks again. "I bet my brother and Kaylee like mistletoe."

Mal laughs and feels the awkward tension in the air dissolve. 

"You're right about that. Kaylee is the one who put it up," he says with a grin. 

"Figures," she replies as she walks through the entryway. Mal follows, relieved that he hasn't made a fool of himself. 

 

They eat dinner, and by the time it's over Mal has managed to put thoughts of mistletoe and kissing to the back of his mind. As he returns to the bridge he is preoccupied with thoughts of their next job and the planet they're landing at tomorrow. It's a bit closer to the Core then he likes. They have to be careful, because they can't risk the chance of the Alliance finding River and-

"Mal," River says softly, suddenly appearing in front of him.

Mal just blinks. By now he's used to her springing up on him out of nowhere.

"You gonna let me through, little albatross?" he asks, because she's in the way, blocking him from entering the bridge. 

Wait. Blocking the bridge....

Mal looks up and sure enough, there's that gorram mistletoe again. 

"River," he says uneasily as thoughts of the special hell flicker through his mind again.

"You think too much," she whispers and then she's leaning forward and kissing him. 

It's soft, it's sweet, and it feels good. Too good. Mal can only stand still in shock for several seconds. He feels River shift against him, and then her hand is cupping his jaw and another is on his shoulder. He can feel his resolve crumbling; it leaves him completely as River's tongue darts out to trace patterns against his lips. 

He kisses her back, trying to be slow and gentle instead of desperate and hungry like he feels. He can feel her laughing against him when they break for air, though, so he guesses that he's failing. One of his hands is around her waist, holding her close, while the other hand is stroking her long dark hair. 

"I think I like mistletoe," she whispers against his lips, her breath warm on his face.

"Me too," he mumbles back. 

"I like you more, though," she says seriously, and then she starts doing wicked things with her tongue and hands and oh yeah, Mal is _definitely_ going to the special hell for this. All because of that gorram mistletoe.


End file.
